Sir Ken Robinson did a wonderful opening keynote. I heard him back in June at ISTE 2012 and he was even better at NCTE. Yes, I knew some of the jokes already and but his is still funny and inspiring. I love meeting and hearing from authors. Sherman Alexie holds on tight when you take a picture with him. This was also the first time I got to stay for ALAN, a book lovers paradise.
Getting to hang out with my friends Heather Lattimer and Diana Neebe is another of my favorite parts. The three of us presented together. Heather provided the larger context and Diana and I shared about the ways we use technology in our classrooms. Afterward we got that question I'm now so used to. "What's your advice for teachers who are about to start teaching with a computer for every student?" We made some suggestions, but the question lingered for me.
I think the question stayed with Heather and Diana too because we kept talking about it over dinner. Diana is a real foodie and she took us to a celebrity chef restaurant at Caesars palace. I think she made the reservations in June. The food was fabulous, but then she tricked me into trying the spicy ice cream.
Sometime that evening Heather said something like, "You guys should write a book." By then we were about to see a Cirque Du Soleil show. In the few minutes before the house lights went out we casually brainstormed some chapter ideas. The show was stunning, but I know Diana and I kept thinking book.
We've got an outline now. I think we might be doing this. We could call it Power Up: Teaching in a 1:1 Classroom. At least it makes for a good blog title.
